Tigo Tanzania in partnership with Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (CBFW), USAID and FINCA have today launched a women entrepreneurship initiative that aims at empowering over 3,200 Tigo Pesa (mobile money) female agents in the country through provision of soft loans and training on business management to expand and grow their businesses.
“According to last year’s UN report, women were accounted to control over 70 per cent of Africa’s economy informally. Tigo is therefore much honored to partner with the Cherie Blair Foundation For Women, USAID and FINCA in order to create more opportunities for women in Tanzania by ensuring access to financial services, to markets, to communications technology, to training and by doing so we will seed conditions for broader and deeper economic progress,”
said Mr. Gutierrez.
According to the founder of CBFW, Mrs. Cherie Blair, this partnership provides an excellent opportunity for female mobile agents, as it will lower barriers that women face in accessing financial services and promote the innovative adoption of mobile technology amongst these women.
“Women entrepreneurs have much to gain from selling mobile products, as it can provide additional income for the household and offer on-the job learning. In turn, mobile operators have equally as much to gain from including women in mobile chains, as they can offer significant advantages such as enhance branding and access to new markets,” said Ms. Blair who was also
the guest of honor at the launch.
Meanwhile, FINCA Tanzania’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Tom Kocsis added that the financial assistance and expertise provided by FINCA is intended to help women start up a business as a mobile money agent, or for existing agents, to manage better and grow their mobile money business.
“Our soft loans that will be provided through Tigo Pesa are determined to benefit women in both urban and rural areas. As a development partner, we also believe this will contribute towards the women empowerment as well as community and country at large,” commented Mr. Kocsis.
The program which will be implemented in the course of 18 months throughout the country was officially launched today at the New World Cinemas by Mrs. Cherie Blair, the wife of the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blaire. The launch was witnessed by both private and governmental development partners,